GREENSBORO, N.C. — Nestled in the heart of downtown Greensboro, there’s a building that’s brought stories to life for almost 100 years.
What You Need To Know
The Carolina Theatre’s curtain came up for the first time on Halloween in 1927
Technical director April Kelli Sturdivant said the theatre has survived many challenges, from a devastating fire in the 1980s to the threat of becoming a parking lot
The Carolina Theatre still has a packed schedule of movies and live performances to entertain visitors all year round
The Carolina Theatre’s curtain came up for the first time on Halloween in 1927. Technical Director April Kelli Sturdivant lovingly calls the building “The Old Lady” and describes it as a landmark of the community.
“She has sustained a lot. She’s gone through a lot over the years,” Sturdivant said.
Sturdivant said the theatre has survived many challenges, from a devastating fire in the 1980s to the threat of becoming a parking lot. She said the first ticket went to Greensboro’s mayor at the time after a slight delay due to the chandelier being hand-cranked into place. It was the opening act of a story that would later intertwine with Sturdivant’s own life.
Her entrance came in 1984, thanks to a picture of the theatre’s auditorium on the cover of Greensboro’s phone book.
“I was the one that had to go and get the phone numbers for my grandmother, you know … whatever call she wanted to make, and I’d sit back and look at that picture,” Sturdivant said. “Who would have ever thought that I would end up being here back in 1984 staring at that picture?”
Sturdivant oversees technical operations for the entire theatre, from the auditorium to the Crown, the Carolina’s black box theatre. She said the Crown has played a variety of roles through the years, from a sign shop to storage, and it’s not the only space in the building to transform. Sturdivant explained that one of the theatre’s present-day storage areas used to be a Black balcony in the days of segregation.
“Black folks had to sit up here, and they’d sit up here while watching a movie and throwing popcorn over the mez. Over the wall there, down onto the white folks in the mezzanine,” Sturdivant said.
She said it’s important to recognize the Carolina Theatre’s history and how it has evolved. She said the building holds the story of her family and community, and she’s proud to help it keep moving forward as it nears its 100th anniversary.
“I love the people that I work with. I like the shows that we do. I like the audiences that we have, there are so many, many things about this theatre to like,” Sturdivant said.
Today, the Carolina Theatre still has a packed schedule of movies and live performances to entertain visitors year round. A calendar of events is available here.